A Tomato Christmas
by Brunette Fan
Summary: Anna was manipulative around the holiday time. More manipulative then Kratos gave her credit for. One-shot


**Hey guys! I hope you like this. It's an early Christmas story since there's like none here. Rated for some slight innuendo on Anna's part and some suggestiveness, but it's not too bad.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Tales of Symphonia I wouldn't be writing this.**

**A Tomato Christmas**

Tomatoes were an object which was the bane of Kratos' existence. He looked at his son, that was sleeping in the crib in the inn in Luin. His son had inherited that trait. Yet why, oh why did his wife insist continually on making both of them eat those vile vegetables?

"Oh, Kratos?" Came the voice of his wife.

"Yes?" Kratos' stance stiffened and he refused to turn his eyes towards her, fearful of what would come. Lately she had insisted on making him change the one aspect of himself that would never change. He was four thousand years old for crying out loud!

"You know, I was thinking," she said as she walked towards him, laying her hand on his arm and dragging it slowly up to meet his face. He shivered. Oh no, she was not doing that to him. "That it may be nice if we had some Christmas things for the upcoming holidays. Lloyd should have his first Christmas in style, don't you think?"

"I…would agree," Kratos was hesitant. He knew that look of hers, the one that told him that she was up to something.

"You would agree? Why, don't you think that I'm right?"

"Yes, dear," he said. "What do you have in mind?"

"Oh, I was thinking that we could go out and buy some decorations and presents for him. He should have a Christmas tree and a stocking and--"

"You should know that we don't have sufficient funds for such luxuries."

"I know that, but I was thinking that instead of a lot decorations maybe I could make some instead. And…we could have the food in Christmas colours."

"Christmas colours?" Kratos blanched at the very idea. No, not this again.

"Yep, Christmas colours. They're red and green if you didn't know."

"Yes of course I know that. But what exactly do you have in mind?"

He did not like that look that she was giving him. It was a look that had drove him insane before, a look where she would try to get him to do what she wanted. Nor did she like how she manoeuvred herself into his lap and put her head on his chest. She was up to something.

"I was thinking," she said softly, in a low voice as she brought her hand from his face to his hair, trailing it up and down in a way that made him shiver. She couldn't be thinking of doing that…could she? Lloyd was right there in front of them! "That maybe for Christmas dinner we could have the most lovely shade of red sauce over some delicious noodles. And for some that's green we could have a garden salad. With one of every vegetable. Who knows…I could make the shapes into Santa or Ruldolph."

"R---red sauce?" Kratos repeated as her head moved and brushed lips with his own. "A garden salad? You can't mean that it would have that…that vile vegetable?"

"It's technically a fruit," Anna said, her breath against his skin leading him to thoughts that he should not be having with his son there. And he was very tempted to cave to what she was saying. "I know that you don't like it," the understatement of the millenia that Kratos had been alive in. "But I was thinking that you just never gave it a chance."

"I've…been alive for four thousand years," he said, barely able to keep an argument or his anger in the face of…what she was doing. "My taste buds will not change."

"Oh, but I think they will. You're so stubborn, I just don't think that you've given it a chance before," Anna made that sound as a compliment, and her lips pressed against his lightly, her other arm trailing low. Very low. "Speghetti can be very delicious, if you just give it a chance. Especially if I shape the meatballs like a raindeer. Think about it….Christmas spegghetti. Lloyd will love it."

There was no way that he could argue on his own behalf when she did this to him. And there was no way to argue for Lloyd either, because he knew that his son had the good sense to detest such a vile vegetable. _I'm sorry, son._

"I…I guess I'll have to try it then," Kratos said and he drew his lips to hers and his arms, that were once limp now holding her. He was consumed and he wanted nothing more then to do anything to please her, even if that meant…tomatoes. But those vegetables were the farthest from his mind as he drew his arms lower.

"Kratos," her voice was annoyed and rose and he opened his eyes to look at her. "Lloyd is right there, we can't do this here."

Lloyd, of course. He had forgotten. He looked at the young boy, that was still asleep in his bed completely innocent and unknowing about what had just transpired. Of the plot for a Christmas with…tomatoes.

"Then perhaps we should move to somewhere more…appropriate," Kratos said softly and looked at her.

"I don't think that we have time for that, Christmas is so soon, we've got so much to do. We have to try to buy something for Lloyd, but all the good things will probably be taken. And we need to get some tomatoes and noodles and…that'll be a lot of shopping," Anna smiled and she drew her lips to his again. Oh, she was evil, "You mind helping me out? If we do it together we should get things done fast. And then…maybe I can give you my Christmas present early. You just had a bit of a taste of it now."

There was no way that he could argue with that logic. And the seraph knew that he had been manipulated easily, by Anna. First for a tomato dinner and then…to help shopping. If someone had told him a century ago that this would have happened he would have laughed at them. No, he couldn't laugh back then. He just wouldn't have believed them. He was at the mercy of a woman. And he think that he liked it.

"What do you propose I do?" he asked finally.

"Well, if you could go out shopping for groceries, I think I could go and find some decorations--cheap decorations," Anna added when Kratos shot her a look that told her it was not a good idea. He refused to be completely manipulated. "And a nice present for Lloyd. And maybe try to find a little Christmas tree for this inn…yeah, and I'll make a handmade star for it."

"And this will all be within our budget?"

"Yep, don't worry about that. Anna Aurion is the expert shopper," Anna said with a smile and Kratos found himself smiling with her. "I'll get everything under ten thousand gald."

"Ten thousand?" Kratos said, knowing she was not serious.

"Okay, okay, one thousand," she said, lightly tapping his nose with her finger. "Happy? I'll be cheap just like you."

"You think I'm cheap?"

"Well yeah."

"At least I know that it's more important to spend money on the necesseities."

"Well this is Christmas, so we don't have to worry about that right now."

"Of course," Kratos said with a smile, his thoughts going to what his first Christmas as a family would be like. He celebrated small ones with Anna before, of course, but now he would have a child to share the awe with. He looked at Lloyd, still asleep in his red jumper.

"We'll have to tell him about Santa, you know. I don't think that we've done that yet," Anna said as she noticed that he was looking at Lloyd.

"Santa?"

"Yeah, he has a list of naughty and nice. Oh! We should use that against him any time he acts out."

Kratos chuckled. "That would be an advantage. But isn't Santa a fable that he shouldn't know? It's a lie."

"A lie it may be, but it's part of the magic of growing up," Anna said and she put his hand on his face, "I know that you may not remember it that much but magic and imagination, it's all a part of being a kid. Lloyd should know that too."

"I suppose you have a point."

Anna broke their embrace and got up, "I think that we should be going now. We've got a lot to do."

"You're right. So I'm to get groceries…?"

"Yep. All the makings of salad and speghetti. And anything else that looks Christmas-y too."

"And who is to watch Lloyd?"

"Ah, I'll stay with him," Anna said and took the seat on the chair that Kratos had previously occupied. "It'll give me time to think of the perfect present for him. Oh, and for you."

"For me? I thought that you were going to give me--"

"Well yeah, but that's only part of it. I could give that to you anytime, this one has to be…well…you'll see."

"Heh, I suppose I will," Kratos said with a slight smile before turning around.

"Oh, and Kratos?"

He stopped. "Yes?"

"I wouldn't mind if you got me something for Christmas. It's only fair."

Kratos felt shock at both the mention of the present. He had not even thought to give her anything, and now with what she was giving him and with their limited funds he could not afford any jewellery or perfume. He was panicking. He moved again to leave, his mind completely going from what he could give her that would be good.

"And don't forget the tomatoes," she called after him as he closed the door. That was a further thing added to his mind. He had no desire, but she had convinced him and manipulated him through whatever devices that she had at her disposal. He had to scramble to find her a gift and he was now doing shopping. But most of all, they were having a Christmas with tomatoes.

**Review please! Think of it as a Christmas present to me. I would love you forever and for always.  
**


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